Valve device



u En DE YD .m E u Filed Feb. 5, 1926 @V'gibl: 111 221" Patented July 12,1927.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL 'IYDEN, OF EVANS'ION, ILLINOIS.

VAL E DEVICE.

Application filed February 8, 1926. Serial No. 85,655.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved form andconstruction of valve and seat having soft-as distinguished frommetallic-seating surface, without liability to any substantial elasticreaction from seating pressure tending to delay the actual opening ofthe valve, and without liability" pipe valve construction, for admittingwater to operate an alarm when the main valve is initially, and to theslightest extent, opened, the valve for this auxiliary purpose beingcarried by the main valve which controls the water access to the system,and moved for opening in the opening movement of said main valve. Ifthere is any appreciable delay in the actual opening of the auxiliaryport when the main valve begins to open, such as results from thereaction of an elastically yielding seat or yielding valve face tendingto react from the seating pressure, the alarm is not sounded as promptlyas it should be. In this situation it is equally important, however,that the valve at the auxiliary port should be absolutely unleaking, andfor this reason a metallic valve cooperating with the metallic seat isnot feasible, because the auxiliary valve being carried by many timeslarger main valve, the degree of accuracy in the pivoting of the mainvalve which would be necessary for the perfect accuracy of co-operationof the metallic valve and seat at the small auxiliary port, isimpracticable; and by the two imperative necessities arising in thisparticular type of construction, viz., a sure seating and quickunseating of the auxiliary valve, there is created an urgent necessityfor the present invention which is therefore illustrated in the drawingsin theparticular construction referred to, viz, the dry pipe valvecarrying a valve for controlling an auxiliary port.

In the drawings Figure l is an axial section of a portion of the drypipe valve casing and connections equipped with a valve embodying thisinvention at the auxiliary port.

Figure 2 is a detail axial-section of the auxiliaryvalve and its seat onan enlarged scale. Figure 3 same plane as Figure 2, but showing theparts in full line as before the seating member is trimmed to remove theend bulged out by the compression produced by drawing the central memberfrom the dotted line to the full line position shown in said figure.

The drawings show the main water-controlling valve, 10, in a dry pipevalve casing, 11, having its seat at 12 encompassing .the water inletport, 13, the valve being hinged at one side of said port as indicatedat 15. An auxiliary duct, 16, leads in from outside is a detail of thevalve in the the casing for opening through a port,17,

situated just outside the annular seat, 12, of the main valve, the valveseat about said auxiliary port being .provided by a drive fittedbushing, 18, and a valve'co-operating with said seat being shown at 20,carried by the main valve at a point directly opposite the hinge pivotof said main valve. The construction in general of this valveconstitutes no part of the presentv invention and will not be describedbeyond indicating that said valve, 20, is. spring-pressed for seating,being carried in a sleeve, 21, whichis mounted upon the side of the mainvalve, 10. The

bushing seat member, 18, may be metallic for affording an exactlypositioned seating surface for the valve. The valve indicated as to itsvtotality by the numeral, 20, comprises a metallic cup member, 22, Whosecavity is frusto-conical, narrowing from mouth to bottom. The seatingarea of the valve is afforded by a frusto-conical annulus, 23, made ofelastically compressible material, as rubber, which is exteriorlydimensioned for fitting in the frusto-conical cavity of the cup,'22, andis contained and held compressed therein by a central frust-conicalmetal member, 24, exteriorly dimensioned for fitting the interiorfrusto-conical dimensions of the compressible member, The centralfrusto-conical member, 24, has a threaded stem 24, which extends throughthe apertured center of the bottom of the cup, a nut, 25, being providedengaging the protruding end of the stem for securing said centralmember, 24, properly positioned centrally within the outer member, 22.The :trusto-conical rubber annulus, 23, 1s dimensioned originally forfitting quite accurately within the outer metal member, 22, buthavingits central aperture slightly less in diameter than the centralmetal member, 24. That is to say, so dimensioned that thecen: tral lrusto-conical member inserted in the trusto-conical aperturexoftherubbermember will not reach the bottom of the cup without strong pressure forspreading the rubber member for enlarging the central aperture. Theinitial position of the central member, 24, is indicated in dotted linein Figure 3, and it may be understood that for completing theconstruction the nut, 25, is'tightened on the threaded stem to drawtheucentra'l: member, 24L, fully into the central cavity of: the rubbermember and seat itsshoulder, 245%, rt the bottom or the cup with the nuttightened on the outer side. In this process itwill' be understood-thatthe rubbermember, 23, is sensibly compressed in bothndirect-ions'; thatis, axially and transversely, and that there will result a bulging ofthe rubber .at the open end as indicated a'tQZi infullli'ne in Figure 3.This bulge Willjbeground oil so that the rubber is substantially flushwith the, two metallic members, 22 and 24, as seen in Figure 2, and thevalve is thenin condition for service. The thi'clcness of the annularmember, 23, that is, the breadth of its seating face, is desirablyslightly more than the corresponding dimension of the seat member, 18,so that in the operation of the valve there is no touchof the metallicparts of the valve with the metallic seat, but on the contrary themetallic seat makes contact only with the soft seating face of the valveformed by the compressed: rubber,- whlch, being compressed nearly to itslimit of elastic reaction, does not yield to theseating pressure so asto be indented by the valve seat to any sensible extent. In practice thelimit of reaction of thegvalv'e uponrelieffrom the seating pres sure,which will not undesirably delay the actual opening of the valve shouldnot exceed 3/1000. The ordinary reaction of an ordinarily constructedvalve having a rubber lace-of suflicient thickness ,to' serve thepurpose is about 12/1000. The compression, therefore, to which themember, 28,'is subjected in the initial construction of this valve isdesigned to take up three-t0urths or more ofthe range oi itselastic'reaction, that is 9/1000 out of-the 12/1000". And the maximumseating pressure which the valve would experience in the constructionindicated will not cause the reaction upon release of pressure to exceed3/1000. This result, it will be recognized, is dependent upon' andobtained by cutting off the protruding rubber as described: because,how'- evermuch the rubber might be compressed between the metal elementsas described, it any substantial portion were left protruding tree toexpand laterally upon compression in the direction of the seatingpressure, the reaction from such lateral expansion would cause the delayin the unseating of the valve which it is the purpose of theconstru'c't'ion to prevent.

Ido not limit myself to the particular or detail means of producing thecondition of compression of the compressible and el'astically reactingelement of the valve which is herein shown, but, on' the contrary, thespecific construction for thus compressing this element will bevariedaocording to the character of the valve and it is formed intotality for this particular purpose. And

particularly I do not limit myself to the 011 cular torni of the valveparts by reason of which they are describable as conical in the termirus'to-conical. On the contrary,,any tapered form which will cause theapplication or pressure in one direction to produce compression also ina transverse. direction will be within the scope of the specific featureof the invention which is exemplified by the frusto-conical form.

1. A valve device comprising a valve and a co-opcrating valve seat, oneof said cooperating elements being a rigid annulus with a central portto be closed by; the seating ot" one of said elements on the other, andthe other (to-operating element c on1pris' i an annular member ofyie'ldingly conipressible elastically reacting substance as rubber, andtwo rigidmembejrs respectively within and encompassing said annularmemher, and means for compressing the compressible member between theinner and. the'en coinpassing, rigidmembers for rendering itsubstantially incompressible further the seating pressure, thecompressible member being approximately flush with the rigid members atthe end exposed between them for seating after being compressed betweenthem; whereby the extent of said compressed element which is susceptibleto compression and capable of elastic reaction in the: direction ofimpactof valve and seat is negligible and such yielding and reaction isprevented;

,2. A valve element compr'is'ingfan annular element of compressibleelastically reacting" free to expand transversely to the direction ofseating impact is negligible, and thereby the elastic yielding andreaction of said element in said direction. of impact is negligible.

3. A valve device comprising a compressible'and elastically reactingpart and two rigid parts between which the compressible part is held,and means for stressing the rigid parts toward each other to compressthe other part between them, said compressible and elastic part beingexposed at the end between said rigid parts for forming at said end aseating face in a plane transverse to the faces of the rigid partsbetween which it is compressed, said seating face being approximatelyflush with the ends of the rigid arts.

P l. In the construction defined in claim 3 the rigid parts beingrespectively adapted to encompass and to be encompassed by me'yieldingly compressible part.

5. In the construction defined in claim 3 the rigid parts being taperedand respectively adapted to encompass and to be encompassed by thecompressible part, and means for stressing one of the rigid partslongitudinally with respect to the other for compressing the yieldingpart between them in two directions transverse to each other.

6. A valve device comprising an outer rigid cup member having its cavityfrustoconical, narrowing from open end to bottom; an inner rigidfrusto-conical member correspondingly tapered; a compressible yieldinglyreacting relatively soft member of frusto-conical annular form fittedbetween the two rigid members, and means for stressing the inner rigidmember toward the cup bottom for contracting the annular space betweenthe two rigid members and compressing therein the compressibleelastically reacting member, the latter, when thus compressed, havingnegligible protrusion from the open end of the cup member or beyond thegreater base of the central rigid member.

7. In the construction defined in claim 3 the rigid parts beingrespectively a cup hav ing its cavity tapered narrowing from open mouthto bottom, and a similarly tapered central plug, the means for stressingsaid two parts toward each other being a threaded stem projecting fromthe lesser base of the central plug through the bottom of the cupmember, and a nut on said stem outside I the cup bottom.

8. In the construction defined in claim 3 the rigid parts beingrespectively adapted to encompass and be encompassed by the yieldinglycompressible part, the inner encompassed rigid part being exteriorlytapered, and the compressible part bein correspondingly taperedinteriorly, an the means for stressing the rigid parts toward each otherfor compressing the compressible part comprising co-operatmgscrew-threaded elements for thrusting the inner tapered partlongitudinally with respect to the outer rigid part by screwing saidthreaded elements together.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 28 day of January, 1926.

EMIL TYDEN.

